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Free to play games or on the rise recently, they gain their currency from microtransactions rather than monthly fees. and as of late, it's become quite popular with consumers, and in turn, developers. The consumer is less likely to play a game that requires a subscription as, in the long run, they will end up paying far more than they would have if they were playing something that were F2P.

I don't know about the pay more than long term thing, TOR right now has crazy restrictions on free accounts, even some races you have to buy! (It is like 10$ per race) Then there are other things like being able to equipt a purple or do instances, something that is very much needed in the end game.

WoW on the other hand doesn't need anything else, just pay you 15 and don't sweat anything. The only things bought with real money are completely optional, cosmetic pets/mounts.

I don't know about the pay more than long term thing, TOR right now has crazy restrictions on free accounts, even some races you have to buy! (It is like 10$ per race) Then there are other things like being able to equipt a purple or do instances, something that is very much needed in the end game.

Free to play (F2P) games are on the rise not only because customers like the concept, but also becasue of piracy - I can copy an install cd to a .iso file and upload it to who knows where, but I can't exactly do the same with a potion, or EXP. Developers are likely to make the same amount, if not more money with F2P - Idk about you, but I'd be much more likely to buy 10 things that are 0.99 than 1 that is 9.99. :3

Free to play (F2P) games are on the rise not only because customers like the concept, but also becasue of piracy - I can copy an install cd to a .iso file and upload it to who knows where, but I can't exactly do the same with a potion, or EXP. Developers are likely to make the same amount, if not more money with F2P - Idk about you, but I'd be much more likely to buy 10 things that are 0.99 than 1 that is 9.99. :3

The truth of the matter is, free MMOs and MOBAs have become much more successful than their counterparts. People don't like being forced to pay money. Making something free with the bonus little quirks you can get with spending by choice makes a game much more enjoyable.

People always try to look for the low-cost stuff. If it is free to play, people will just play; and after captivating them they can advertise the in-game items which are now interesting to them to get the cash instead of using a subscription service which people won't bother with in the first place. And people generally don't bother with trials and stuff.

Some F2P games are also known as P2W (pay to win) and not without reason. One has to put a lot of hours into a game to get good things if they're a freeloader, and it's usually impossible to unlock everything (even just everything relevant to one character or playstyle) without paying whatever the combined cost of every 'micro'-transaction is, which would probably be equivalent to subscription fees as new content is released periodically. This depends on the game of course, but being someone who doesn't spend money frivilously and least of all on immaterial things, I notice it quite easily. I would find something subscription-based to feel like a more satisfying and complete game, but I don't think $15/month is at all reasonable when the average customer expenditure on F2P games is probably a lot less than that and yet the companies apparently still profit from them. I would prefer a subscription if the provider of it wasn't trying to suck everyone dry for no good reason.

To answer OP's question, I presume that an F2P game requires less of an initial investment to set up and is easier to profit from. While it is not ultimately more profitable, a small company faces less risk in setting an one up. There is also the consumer attitude toward subscriptions, but I don't think that matters for much.

Quote originally posted by RockManFan:

I think everyone has pretty much covered the reasons for f2p (ca$h money) but what f2p games do you guys play?

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